J'AI FINIS... Oh wait Bosnian..

   HIGH SCHOOL IS OVER. Well. American high school to say the least. I still have that glorious year of high school in Bosnia. It doesn't feel like summer. It totally didn't feel like I was leaving NHS for the last time today after school. I went through all of my classes today kind of passively, just a normal day and I'll see all these people again. I felt this way until Avalon decided to cry and I hugged some of my closest friends good bye.
    There have been times when I said American high school stinks and I really wish I was far away. But I always forget to realize the great things in my high school. The fantastic theater program that I was a part of, the top eight choir in the state that I sang in, the sports team that I played one season of soccer in and FAILED at (but still made friends), and the classes where I have spent so much time (FRENCH), I can't help but feel that I have established a sense of belonging at my high school and I realize that I can see the entire school in my head and I realize I adore my school. Even the stupid sports teams that I definitely dissed probably way too much. Lunches were never boring, French class never lacking some sort of joke (Erich and Jacob, I'm writing directly to you), and everyday seeing familiar faces and even the rare occasion of seeing a new one. I will miss you NHS from afar in Bosnia (not Bulgaria, not Bolivia, not Belgium. BOSNIA) and I will remember NHS in the best light :)

My Advisory class 2009-2012

    And to my dear mother who has made my lunch for the past eleven years for school, I love you so much and appreciate you making my lunch every day without fail. And finding your note in my lunch made me extremely happy and very sad that I won't ever get another lunch from you. I love you, Mom! <3
 

  On to new news! I was in the Newberg Graphic! Otherwise known as the local newspaper. It's my duty as an Ambassador to spread the word about YES Abroad and that's exactly what I'm doing. Because I love YES Abroad.

    I also got my flight details for the PDO to Washington DC. Leaving at 7:53 in the morning from PDX and arriving in DC at 3:27. Such exact minutes. I am so excited for the PDO, though. We're going to the State Department, doing lots of touring (maybe White House, who knows?) and country oriented activities! Meaning officially meeting the SHAKE girls. I honestly believe that these girls are exactly like me. I've never met people that were very much like me, so this will be more fun than I thought it could have been.

    As for other exchange related news, still no official departure date. I know I originally said August 15, but that's just the rough estimate. Could be sooner or later, who knows? All I know is that my summer is busy and it began at 3:00pm today. Summer is supposed to be long, but with all the things I'll be busy with, I won't have a lot of summer/chilling time. I also still don't have my host family, but with any luck, it'll be coming along soon. Crossing fingers for the end of the month.

    Anyway, I'm going to get back to wasting time on Pinterest and remembering the early days of high school.

    Until probably after the PDO,

-Katie

Almost There

    SATs are over, one final for Human Bio (gah) done, and only 4.5 days of school left. Can it really be done that soon? It's crazy to think that this is my last week in American high school. Eating lunch with my friends at the same table for the past three years has become routine and seeing those familiar faces every morning is just part of me. On Wednesday, we said good bye to our Seniors (which I didn't say good bye to most. I am so sorry!) and now, with my last 4.5 days of being the top dog in school, I'm going to live it up. By "live it up" I mean complete five finals and take a butt-load of pictures. I think it's just beyond me to think that the next time I step into a school, I will be in Bosnia. My sister freaked out when I told her I was having my eighteenth birthday in Bosnia. She couldn't believe I was so old already. My next Christmas will be in Bosnia and, who knows? My host family may not even celebrate it. Speaking of which, I have yet to receive my host family. I have a feeling I won't receive my host family until the end of this month or next. I'm not too worried though, just a little anxious I guess.

     On the school note, we sent in all our forms for school! I registered for Bosnian, French, English, Math Studies (the easier of the two choices. Oh well.), Biology, and Theater Arts. I'm already extremely excited for my Bosnian school and I haven't even finished with American school! Us Bosnian bound girls (SHAKE) have been communicating and, most likely, one of them will be in each one of my classes. Which I'm grateful for, I'm just hoping I'm open enough to burst out of my comfort zone and go talk to some legit Bosnians. It's going to happen, I swear.

    And on SHAKE news, I don't know if I mentioned this, but we are secret quintuplets. We all have long, dark blonde/light brown hair (which three of us are cutting shorter), we are all going to be Seniors next year, and we all dress alike. Seriously, when we first got our country, we did introductions and our personalities are nearly identical. This will for sure be the best year yet! We have all also decided to wear "matching" outfits for the PDO in DC. It won't be noticeable. Just something like, we all happen to be wearing Bosnian colors when we arrive and are all "surprised" when this happens. We've been planning this. We're weird. And I promise I'll post a photo of our look-a-likedness. Which isn't a word, but I don't really care.

    As for SHOCK news, we have decided to do a Sisterhood of the Traveling Journal. Pretty much, we'll have a journal that starts off with Hannah and she keeps it for a month and writes in it and then passes it on to Carly, then Sara, then Olivia, then me! I get it last because I'm the farthest away. Sara, Carly and Hannah are all in southeastern Asia. We all also promised to send postcards because only one of us will get to keep the journal. The postcards we all get to keep.

SHOCK just hanging out :)

     Anyway, I am really excited. This summer is extraordinarily busy with the PDO, camp, Canada, VBS, Bosnian learning, work, and plans for all my good byes. So many freakin' good byes. But there will be so many hellos that I think everything will be alright. Wish me luck on finals!

    Until perhaps before the PDO when I have more stuff to talk about,

    -Katie

Nearing the End

   I end school in three weeks. June 15 and I am out of there for the rest of my life. Only thirteen and a half school days. It's ridiculous to think about it sometimes. At times, I'm really excited and I think, "Oh, my school was never that great." But when closing night for Tournament came and we had our Thespian ceremony and teachers come up to me and congratulate my acceptance to this program because my principal sent out a mass e-mail and I walk from class to class with friends, friends who I have known and loved for the past five years or so (I moved from Canada, remember), it's strange to think I will likely never see them again. I'm almost certain of that. See, the travel bug hit me when I first read about people going to school far away from home. I hadn't even had my own adventures! But then when I did start going places on my own, it was infectious and "there's no place like home" turned to "there's no place like another country where I'll make another home." My plans for my future after Bosnia are still uncertain, but all I know is that this exchange is going to be life-changing. And I am thoroughly excited for that. Sometimes when walking through the halls I remember that after June 15th, I never will go there again. Perhaps for another high school play or such, but still. It's unlikely.
    But perhaps now is the best time to say to all my teachers and all my friends and definitely all my family how insanely grateful I am for their support and encouragement. While we may be planning good byes and dreading the day to do so, we plan our parties before that and stuff we're going to do when I return. And that also excites me.

    But enough of all this tear jerking stuff. I need to start talking about the things future exchange students will want to know. Things other people will want to hear. What will I say to them? As of right now, I'm not sure. All I can say is that, be prepared for your life to change. My life has already changed from a short-term exchange to France and now it will be even more life altering. Even just by reading news articles about Bosnia and watching videos and learning the language (maybe I shouldn't be saying "learning the language" when I've only learned three sentences) I feel my mind expanding. And I get it, whenever I tell people, "Dude I'm in Bosnia next year." they usually come out with, "Oh cool! Wait, is that in Africa?" And I'm not being judgemental because, honestly, I hadn't the slightest clue where Bosnia was eight months ago. But just so you know, it's in Eastern Europe. See? Mind expansion! :P

    Anyway, time for some much needed language practice.

    Until after SAT's and our next conference call (June 3, whoop whoop!),

    -Katie

Realizations

   On a first note before I get to the main news, I got my final book! Which would have been a lot more helpful if I received it first. It thankfully includes how to pronounce the alphabet which has a few new letters like a 'c' with a 'v' on top of it. It makes a 'ch' sound. Extremely proud of myself for knowing that :)

   As for the real news which are my realizations. Good byes, for example. This last weekend my family and my church said good bye to our youth pastor and someone I've known as a brother for the past five years as well as saying good bye to a life-long friend who is moving back up to Canada. Yes, I know I will see them again, but saying good bye to two practically brothers right then sent me into a flurry of tears. And then the realization hit me that I would be saying good bye to everyone in three months. I will see them all again, but I would be lying if I didn't say leaving for a year somewhat frightens me. I am still excited beyond words and ready for this incredible opportunity. Everyday I count down to the Pre-Departure Orientation (six weeks from today, if you were wondering) and then I count down again to my next conference call with SHAKE (Savannah, Helena, Anna, myself, and Emma), and then I get so anxious to leave I can't handle it. But the allotted time I have for my goodbyes and learning Bosnian (it's coming... Zdravo, kako si ti? Zovem se Katie. BAM) and studying. No, this is just enough time for everything.


  Another realization is what I'm might be missing next year. And trust me when I say that I had to think about this a lot. Plays for example, next year. The theater program here is going to Scotland the summer I return. Because I won't be here to audition for the programs they will be performing, I will not be a part of that. My choir is going to Disneyland next year. I will also not be a part of that. Of course there are other things I will be missing, but I am not worried about those things. There's also the possibility that I might miss graduation. It's strange to think I am actually graduating. It doesn't feel like school is almost over for me. Then again it's not over. I still have college. Woo hoo! Really, I am thoroughly excited for college.


  The last realization is this: I am going to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Everyday it gets more real and I'm not left thinking, "No, this isn't happening. I am not going there." But then I get an e-mail from our coordinator saying that she has the papers for us to fill out about school and I momentarily feel my heart stop because I know that this is really happening. And I am so grateful to everyone who has got me to this point.


  I also realize this post is about more on a serious note. But this blog is all about my exchange. Realizing certain things is definitely part of the exchange experience. I'll have happier-crazier-slightly mental posts when I receive more news.


  Anyway, I will write when I have more information on Bosnia which will hopefully be soon. I leave you with a picture of Bosnia:

  Until after our next conference call... maybe,


  -Katie

Zdravo! I have my books!

I finally received my books! Well, one of them plus my CD. My dictionary and workbook will be arriving shortly, however, and I am extremely excited. Last night when my mom handed them to me (I was gone all day at State Championships for Choir) I immediately opened the book and looked at the first page to find tons of words I didn't know! Big surprise! 

My book includes all three languages that I will need to know which will be a painful process to learn all three as well as I can, but my goal is to be able to introduce myself and talk about the weather and such before I leave. Crossing fingers for basic skills by August! I then tried out my CD which instead of doing very slow "Hello. *long pause* Zdravo *long pause* Zdravo *long pause*" it went like this, "Zdravo. Zdravo! Ko si ti? Ja sam student i zovem se..." in a very fast, fluent motion sounding all like gibberish to my Bosnian-ignorant ears. With a little luck though I will get used to the CD fast and be prepared for the crazy amount of Bosnian I will be hearing in three months. THREE MONTHS. Sorry, it just dawned on me that I am leaving so soon.

Anyway, I need to begin my lessons and hopefully get my head around the language.

Until the rest of the books arrive,

- Katie